Cory Wells is setting 2019 ablaze with a new album. The acoustic singer/songwriter has announced that he will be releasing his debut full-length album, The Way We Are, on November 15th via Pure Noise Records. Fans can pre-order the record, and watch Wells' new music video "Wildfire," below!
"Four years in the making and I cannot be more proud of this collection of songs," shares Wells."It portrays sadness, anger, despair, happiness, uncertainty, regret, and so much more. It's my life. Its your life. It's about what its like to be human. Without the bad, the good would mean nothing. It would just be normal. I hope people can appreciate the emotions put into this record as well as the various feels and styles it represents. It's the way we are."
On "Wildfire," he adds: "This topic a first for me to write about. I didn't know that I'd ever known true hatred for someone until the events of this song. It feels amazing to let out so much anger in a healthy way. It feels like letting go."
Wells will be taking his new songs across the country as he joins The Spill Canvas on their upcoming Sunsets & Car Crashes 15th Anniversary Tour. The full US-run kicks off on October 24th in Houston, and includes stops in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia before concluding in Orlando on December 15th. Additionally, he will be touring in the UK/EU in November with Dashboard Confessional. For a full list of upcoming shows, please see below or visit: www.corywellsofficial.com.
Across his debut album's 12 songs, Wells plays the role of shapeshifter: Just when you've got him figured out, he unleashes new musical elements - a ferocious scream ("Walk Away") that eventually gives way to soaring falsetto ("Cement"), stirring acoustic guitar that crescendos into fiery full-band fare. The ghosts of new-era emo torchbearers (including Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, a contributor on "Fall Apart") are alive and well in his lush beds of acoustic-based rock, but Wells isn't actively summoning them. Rather, he's a decidedly patient songwriter, waiting for the right time to pair a searing lyric with the throat-shredding vocal performance it demands.
Wells launched his solo project in 2017 with his first release for Pure Noise Records, the How to Tear Apart the Ones You Love EP, and follow-up single "End of a Good Thing" quickly became a viral hit in 2018, racking up millions of YouTube views and Spotify streams and introducing fans around the world to Wells' storytelling.
At this point in his still-young career as a solo artist, Wells is in an enviable position: As a true student of music in all its styles and forms ("Every genre has its place, and I appreciate something from all of it."), he's a songwriter without limits. He's already masterfully distilled the songs of his youth - the emotional ferocity of metal, the heart-on-sleeve confessionalism of emo and salt-of-the-earth universality of folk - into the music of his present, and looking forward, there seems to be no telling how Wells' music will evolve from here.
You get the sense the singer prefers it that way. As it stands, he's having too much fun keeping listeners - and even himself - anticipating what will come next.
"I could write a ton of different styles of songs, but as long as I sing them like I mean it, the songs will resonate," he says. "I played metal because I liked it. I play this music because I love it."
Wells will release his debut full-length album The Way We Are on November 15th via Pure Noise Records. To pre-order, please visit: smarturl.it/cwthewayweare.
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